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Tod Williams

Writer-director Tod Williams' father (also named Tod) is a famous architect, while his sister Rachel is a model. Williams made his mark in film at the relatively late age of 31, having first studied painting and literature before working as a journalist for the "New York Times" in their Los Angeles office. After taking lessons in filmmaking at the city's American Film Institute, his debut as a writer-director was the offbeat 1998 drama "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole," a coming-of-age story about a boy being raised by his transgendered father. The very evening "Cole" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, it became the first ever purchase of Paramount's short-lived arthouse sub-division, Paramount Classics. Williams' 2004 follow-up, "The Door In The Floor," was a well-received adaptation of John Irving's novel "A Widow For One Year," winning praise from the author and critical plaudits for Jeff Bridges' performance. Six years would pass before Williams abruptly changed his career direction by directing 2010's horror film "Paranormal Activity 2," a sequel to the massively popular lo-fi hit about demonic possession. Off-screen, Williams successively married two of the female stars of the 1998 poker film "Rounders," with a five-year marriage with ex-model Famke Janssen preceding his present marriage to actress Gretchen Mol.